Yanks Sign Catcher Posada; Cubs Deal Jones to Tigers; Braun, Pedroia Win Rookie Awards
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The New York Yankees signed their free agent five-time All Star catcher Jorge Posada for four years, the Chicago Cubs dealt centerfielder Jacque Jones to Detroit for a utility infielder and Milwaukee’s 3rd baseman Ryan Braun and Boston’s 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia won Rookie of the Year honors — all on Monday as the post-season awards began and the trading and free agency season heated up.
The Yanks and Posada came to agreement on a $52.4 million, four-year deal. Posada, a 13 year switch-hitting veteran, led the team in batting average at .338 for 2007 and clubbed 20 homers and 90 RBIs. His 2007 average, slugging percentage (.543) and on-base percentage (.426) were all career highs. Defensively, Posada has been a standout throughout his career posting a .992 lifetime fielding percentage. As with any free agency deal, Posada must pass a physical to finalize the deal.
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The Cubs dealt Jacque Jones to Detroit in exchange for utility infielder Omar Infante.
The Tigers’ press release detailing the trade explained;
Jones saw action in 135 games with the Cubs in 2007, batting .285 (129×453) with 33 doubles, five home runs and 66 RBI. He hit .332 (79×238) in 66 games following the all-star break for the Cubs this past season.
“We are excited to add a quality major league outfielder like Jacque Jones to the Tigers organization,” Tigers President, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager David Dombrowski said. “He is a proven lefthanded hitter at the major league level that fits our club well in left field.”
A veteran of nine seasons in the majors with the Minnesota Twins (1999-2005) and Cubs (2006-07), he has compiled a .280 batting average (1255×4478) in 1,260 games. Jones has collected 164 home runs and 623 RBI during his career.
Cubs general manager Jim Hendry expressed satisfaction with acquiring Infante stating;
“We’re happy to get Infante. He gives us another guy who is versatile and can play everywhere on the infield and all three outfield spots. … It’s good for both clubs…. We tried to wrap it up as soon as we could. We both have other issues to address.”
Infante batted .271 in 66 games in a utlity role for the Tigers during the 2007 season, including six doubles, two home runs and 17 RBI.
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Milwaukee’s 3rd baseman Ryan Braun narrowly beat out runner-up Rockies’ shortstop Troy Tulowitzki for NL Rookie of the Year honors while Boston’s Pedroia outdistanced his closest rival, Tampa Bay’s outfielder Delmon Young by a wide margin garnering 24 of 28 first place votes.
AP Baseball Writer Ben Walker provides background on both winners for Yahoo sports;
The little Boston second baseman with the big swing…. generously listed at 5-foot-9 became a fan favorite at Fenway Park with his all-out style. Plus, few knew he played with a broken left hand down the stretch.
“Everyone doubted me at every level I’ve been to, saying I’m too small, I’m not fast enough, my arm’s not strong enough,” Pedroia said. “There’s a lot of people that have stuck by me and knew deep down in, that there’s something about me that makes me a winning baseball player.”
Pedroia hit .317 with eight home runs and 50 RBIs.
Braun’s brawn earned him the NL award. The slugging third baseman from Milwaukee finished two points ahead of Tulowitzki, Colorado’s sparkplug shortstop.
Braun received 17 of 32 first-place votes and finished with 128 points. Tulowitzki got 15 first-place votes and 126 points. Ballots were completed by the end of the regular season, before Pedroia and Tulowitzki met in the World Series.
“To show you how good Ryan was, in any other year Troy Tulowitzki would have won hands down,” Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said.
Called up from Triple-A in late May, Braun hit .324 with 34 home runs and 97 RBIs. The Brewers led the majors in homers this season and stayed in contention for the NL Central championship until the final week.
Braun’s .634 slugging percentage led NL players and was the highest by a rookie in major league history. He did not have enough plate appearances, however, to qualify for the title.
His big offensive numbers were enough to overcome 26 errors, tied for most in the majors with Minnesota shortstop Jason Bartlett.
“Everybody has things they need to work on,” Braun said on a conference call.
The Phillies will surely vouch for Braun’s huge bat. In 3 games against the Phils last season, Braun was 6 for 14 with 3 of those hits being homers.
Regarding Tulowitzki, AP’s Walker wrote;
He also set an NL rookie record for home runs by a shortstop (24) and batted .291 with 99 RBIs as the Rockies surged to the NL pennant. Colorado won 14 of 15 to take the wild-card spot — Tulowitzki had four hits in a one-game tiebreaker for the slot, including a key double off Trevor Hoffman.
MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy added these stats on Tulowitzki;
Tulowitzki… proved a superior defender. His .987 fielding percentage and 5.39 zone rating led Major League shortstops, and Tulowitzki committed only 11 errors in 155 games.
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